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29 December 1999
Across the Atlantic Ocean on an unremarkable day, Asuka R Kruetz looked out of the windows into the empty dark. A rumble shook the plane; minor turbulence that was gone in seconds, but his fingers dug into the glass still. Hazy fears lingered in the back of his mind.
Around him however was a celebration. Late Christmas bleeding into early New Years, the turn of the millennium lurking around the horizon. In Asuka’s mind today was not close enough to either to justify the revelry, but it seemed nearly everyone else on this flight thought otherwise. Unfortunately, it seemed ensuring a steady flow of wine had taken greater priority over things like complimentary earplugs for the carrier, and Asuka had been delusional enough to omit bringing some.
He withdrew his hand to dig into his temple, rubbing off his lack of sleep, and consoled himself with the fact that at least the only other person in his row had maintained their sanity at the Manead’s feast. Having stayed silently reading up till now, and respectful of personal space, the man had been a perfectly fine travel companion. Asuka just needed to have the mental fortitude to withstand everything until the ground beneath their landing wheels was Duestchland.
Of course that was when awareness of the sensations came acutely up on him. Wet, moist smacking and pressing lips; the chewing of mush, buzzy talking. With the noises came others, the scratchy fuzz of the chair fabric upon him, into him, real as the sweat beading upon his brow, despite the chill of the air-conditioning. His eyes pressed into the broadsheet in front of him, trying to focus. It did not help very much, it took him several visual circuits to realize this morning’s headlines had been heaping ridicule upon the supporters of a disgraced scientist regarding the upcoming ‘machine calamity’.
“...You appear…troubled young man, are you feeling fine?”
Asuka blinked, uncertain if he had heard that. He turned towards the likely source, and found his neighbor looking him over with unreadable eyes set in a weary middle-age face. After a couple of seconds had passed in silence, feeling creeping about his brain, the stranger answered for him.
“Is it the noise?” he said through a slight accent; voice taking upon a tone Asuka associated with handlers quieting a spooked horse. Shshsh, I’m here, I mean you no harm. “I can stop the—I can help with that.” He moved a cautious hand towards Asuka’s arm, as though intent on either stabilizing him or shattering him apart. This notion of human contact managed to register in Asuka’s head, and immediately a banal ‘it’s fine’ formed on his lips. Yet something deeply intense—concern Asuka managed to place a moment later—glittered within the strangers eyes and suddenly through cotton what he said instead was:
“I…would appreciate it.”
The man pulled back his arm when Asuka spoke, confirmation that he was still around. He considered for a moment, before reaching into a pouch jammed in his seat compartment. Performative rummaging around later —the bag was tiny, surely only the barest of travel essentials could fit within— and like a magician pulling off a coin switch the trick was revealed; another set of earplugs.
For all the theater that accompanied it, they looked exactly like they came from the same off-brand mass produced factory as his current ones, just in black rather than neon orange. But still, that the man had offered, clearly trying to help—that was worth appreciating no matter the result. Did he childishly expect a savior to just be next to him in reality they occupied? Disappointment buried under logic, Asuka took them.
“Thank you,” he said, tone stripped clean of any mockery. His fellow traveler’s mouth twitched into a smile. “No problem. Try and get some sleep…it’s going to be a long night ahead,” the man murmured, before turning back to his book, fingers tapping lightly on the metalwork inlay that crossed the cover.
Good advice in general , Asuka thought, as he plucked out his pre-existing earplugs, wincing at the new edge his hearing took on. If only I would be lucky enough to. A week of nightmares just doesn't stop now —
Oh.
Blessed silence.
An unsteady hand brushed against the freshly replaced ones, suspecting like a leprechaun’s pot of gold he must have been tricked. There were no earplugs in this world that would work that well, not at this size, unless it was possibly custom fitted. Which of course, took itself out of the equation by nature of providence. But to also circumvent reverberations through the bone was something he had not encountered, and would suggest some form of active canceling. Yet, he had also seen no signs of electronics. Just squishy rubber.
The void of sound remained.
Shuffling upwards, Asuka peeped over his seat. People still moved and talked, hands and mouths forming silent languages. To the other side of him the slow blinking of the wing lights through the glassy darkened skies further confirmed they were still flying through reality.
He shot his rescuer furtive looks, but the man stayed…well exactly the same as before. Drifting down, his eyes settled on the book the man was reading as though it had some clue, though Asuka could not decipher the language. Or the strange font that it had been printed in, creeping all over the paper like weeds.
Asuka leaned in closer, caught by an phrase of equation that seemed familiar. The numbers, well, they looked like multitude of ink blots but Asuka was certain somehow they were numbers, they resembled—
The book closed with a snap and Asuka found himself jolting up, looking straight into the brown eyes of the stranger. He rocketed backwards, mouth forming voiceless apologizes for being nosey, for getting too close, he did not mean to intrude, he was just curious—
“It’s fine,” said the stranger, cutting through noiselessness, “did something catch your eye?”
“..I can hear you.”
“Why yes. I can hear you too, if you're doing a soundcheck.”
“How…?”
The man shrugged. “Would you believe me if I said magic?”
“But magic doesn’t exist,” Asuka said, with the promptness of someone stating a fact of nature. He belatedly remembered the doomsayers and their claims otherwise. “I…didn't mean…I guess you support the theories? I am not exactly convinced by the infinite energy proposal, or the idea of being able to manipulate the world-data through your mind, but the flaws with electronics might be worth—”
He heard a chuckle. “I can do you one better still regarding if I believe these theories . I’m the one guiding and warning them about this.”
Asuka looked again at the man, his curly salt and pepper hair in a bedhead resembling his own, stretchy clothes that could double up as sleepwear; his jacket draped over his legs like a blanket. And of course his strange tone of unknowable words.
“...I see.”
“Well that’s a better reaction than most,” the man replied. “Usually I get called crazy by people in the community; nowadays at least. Still you need to be more open minded, it's not like we know that much about this universe, much less others.”
The man nodded at his book “ Magic does exist. Or at least, something you could justifiably call magic does, without getting into the exact science of its nature. And it is usable. Well, not by everyone at the moment, but it will be. It must be. Some people just have a head start innately. You perhaps could call them ‘talented’.”
He winked at Asuka, as though sharing a joke they both knew. “Of course, talent means nothing if you don’t cultivate and train it. In fact, over-reliance on it might even bog down your perceptions. Which is why I return to my original question; is there something that caught your eye?”
“I…the numbers on that page, they look familiar to me. But I could just be a pattern recognizing coincidences. I've not been sleeping well, and I am sorry for intruding—”
Asuka’s mostly honest answer did not disinterest the man as he had hoped. If anything, he found himself pinned to his seat by an even more portentous gaze. “I know. And yet…you could identify them as numbers. That already suggests…tell me, your sleep issues, they have been caused by nightmares haven’t they.”
“How did you–”
“I’ve been having them as well. So have others,” the man continued, catching on to Asuka’s accidental admission. "The connecting point is clear, either natural pre-deposition to the Backyard, or those who are already actively drawing upon it. As for the reason behind them…have you heard of the Universal Will.”
Those were just meaningless words being put together, just like any others. Yet at that moment Asuka could feel an echo of something wanting in, fire behind his eyes and a fist around his heart. Every night, shadowy eyes watching from behind his mind, fixated on a point amidst a sea of numbers. That string he had seen, the definition of time by a foreign being.
“I…I….”
Redundancies shall be eliminated in due course.
Asuka pressed a hand to his temples, doubling over. His mind went the static of a tv before programs aired. Or when they ended. Someone was speaking, many people were speaking, the words seemed to fade in and out.
“Oh god…Help…Warning….”
Too late, profane creator!
Asuka reached out a hand and found himself falling. They all were. Noise he could not hear but knew had happened. Gravity had won. So did sleep.
—
In the empty night a bunch of threads lay scattered. Inching towards each other, they were gathered into a ball of jumbled sensations, then woven into the shape of a man. A single concrete thought occurred through that tapestry.
I am still alive.
Asuka rocketed forwards, saved from hitting the seat in front of him by his already outstretched arms. Gasps of air. The tickle of the seat fabric. He was still buckled down. A wet trickle stroked his cheek. A swipe with his hand confirmed it was both blood, as well as a non-lethal cut. His in-flight screen was black, save for the following words:
"In a matter of days, humanity will crumble.”
This was not just bad turbulence. This was the end. He turned to look out of the window, expecting perhaps the void of purgatory. Then he froze.
They were still in the air.
That was good.
Except they were not moving.
They should be falling. The basic principles of aerodynamics dictated this was impossible. Unless a multitude of things that resided only in the realm of the theoretical happened for them to defy physics.
Pulling out the earplugs with a shaky hand, Asuka could hear nothing, not even the hum of the engines. For that matter the whole cabin had been silenced. He turned, letting out a stuttered noise. Every screen in the cabin resembled his own, displaying that haunted message. The stranger was gone. Bags, personal items and various drinks lay everywhere. His fellow passengers were either limp in their seats or flung on the floor in odd positions. Rising panic in Asuka told him he wasn’t sure how many of them were breathing.
Unbuckling his seatbelt, he stumbled out into the aisle towards the closest fallen person, a stewardess next to an unturned cart. Wishing all the while that he had practical first aid knowledge and not just masters and doctorates on various biological matters. It was possible he could do nothing useful but confirm death.
A voice came from behind him.
“Asuka.”
He turned.
The stranger stood, no, floated . Shoes an inch from the ground, his jacket swirling of its own accord in the windless cabin. Geometric sigils surrounded him as his hands moved in patterns, centered around the book he had been reading. Asuka realized then there was a warmth, a force, originating from them. And that force coursed through the plane, surrounding it, uplifting it.
“She’s fine. So are the others, I’ve attended to them. They are unconscious yes, but without lasting injuries. I suppose in a way, it is also fortunate. Panic rarely makes things better.”
“This...How do you know my name? And are you really keeping this plane floating?”
“One question at a time. For your name, the causative agent informed me. A connection they had taken advantage of in that moment. Will did not lie, did they?”
“...no.”
He nodded. “As to your other question. I am. I did say magic was real after all.”
Asuka had no response to that. The man floated forwards, hand outstretched. “May I tend to that cut?” he asked. Asuka barely managed to get an affirmative out before the hand was withdrawn. And with it, went the blood. Unsteady fingers brushed against new skin. He heard the man speak to someone, the confirmation of an airport code accompanied by the snap of fingers. A shiver of vibrations shook the plane as they started to move again.
“You can sit down now, Asuka. I’ve got it in control. This plane at least; I am in communications to be directed to a suitable airport for an emergency landing. Seems like we were not the only ones affected. But, it is true Will reserved a bit more of their dislike towards me.”
Asuka was struck by a vision of planes falling from the sky. It was promptly followed up by the realization if this was the apocalypse that had been claimed, that meant—
“Not yet,” said the stranger. “As far as I understand, everyone else just got the message. This particular outcome only happened to us,” he exhaled. “An error on my part as well. Will cannot attack me directly, nor track my location. But it seems like mentioning them, unshielded, while in proximity to someone else with the potential…. Ah, don’t blame yourself for existing, given how careless I was, it was going to happen. I know you saw that date. This was just their equivalent of a opportunistic taunt.”
“ ‘Humanity shall crumble’,” Asuka repeated. “So, what now?”
“We land without breaking apart for starters. As for after, well, a horde of civil services, media, friends and family shall descend upon us, and we shall do our best to handle that. I will then most likely be called to meet with someone of rank, and hopefully knowledge. Fortunately, there have been various world nations and organizations that have secretly listened to our warnings, even if prior to this they worn only scorn on their faces. I cannot control what you want to do however.”
Life after such an event…. Asuka had been traveling to Germany in the first place for a conference, an prestigiously assigned duty he had been persuaded to take on based on his qualifications, despite his reluctance to represent his institution through niceties. If that was canceled…well it did not matter, since reality was going to be radically changed. He supposed he could just be a person, waiting for the announcements on what to do.
Some people just have a head start innately. You perhaps could call them ‘talented’.”
“Have you ever taught people magic?” Asuka blurted out. It was not exactly what he wanted to ask, but he could not bear the thought of being so direct with a delusional hope so precious.
“Four others. They have taken to calling themselves Apostles, as though I am the modern day divine son. They have been working with me behind the scenes, and with various nations. Preparing for the worst. You will meet them, in time. But yet I am curious, why ask about pupils when you have not even asked for my name.”
Asuka’s aghast look must as shown, for the man quickly added on “Nothing to worry about! That was merely an omission I noticed. Magic and its science are infinitely more important and exciting than my real name, which in the community is now viewed as that of a lunatic claiming that miracles exist in a world of technology; a child prodigy gone insane. An embarrassment and liar. That is not the definition I chose for myself.”
“...Besides, given your earlier question, if you are so interested in learning magic, I would gladly accept you calling me teacher.”